Titan 23147 3/8"torque Wrench 60-960in/lbs on 2040-parts.com

OnStar 'ignition block' disables stolen vehicles

OnStar, General Motors' in-vehicle safety and communications system, has launched a service to keep car thieves from starting a vehicle that has been reported stolen. As of July 20, three stolen cars had been disabled by the technology, called "remote ignition block." The feature is available on select 2009 and 2010 GM models. Subscribers must report their vehicles stolen to police officials and request assistance from OnStar, which then sends a signal that prevents the car from restarting.

Citroën invites design ideas via Facebook

Citroën has launched a Facebook app calling for users to select design features for what it calls a special edition car, the first crowdsourced car in the UK. Rather than the genuinely design-led competitions we've seen recently from Renault (Twizy) and Citroën's own DS3, ‘You Like It, We Make It', offers six configurations such as exterior and interior color scheme, technology options like Bluetooth and SatNav, alloys, and the number of doors the vehicle has. The Citroeën C1 Connexion special edition will be kitted out with the most popular ideas and those participating via the app will be in with a chance of winning the car when it goes on sale later in the year.

Mercedes S63 gets new 5.5 litre V8

The Mercedes S63 AMG is the firts to get the new AMG 5.5 litre V8 Bi-Turbo Mercedes’ top end AMG engine has changed over the last few years. It’s gone from a 5.5 litre supercharged lump to the now ubiquitous 6.2 litre normally aspirated engine, which anomalously gets badged ’63′ throughout the cars that sit at the top of each of Mercedes big-engined ranges. But now we go back to the future with the return of a 5.5 litre V8 – admittedly a completely new engine (M571) – which this time round sports a pair of turbochargers and delivers 554 hp and 590lbs/ft of torque.